Last evening I walked into Taylor's bedroom to see the girls stuffing Littlest Pet Shop figurines into each other's shirts. Maddie told me she was going to "push them out" and then proceeded to grunt and groan like a woman giving birth. These pictures are from this morning, however, because I caught them playing this game again.

Really people, I only have three movies that have scenes with women giving birth, and I don't watch them that often! The good news is the girls have been playing together nicely.....

Ode to Toilet Paper

Alas dear toilet paper, you go so fast
wiping so much little potty training ass.
It seems to me that there really should be
some kind of contraption, some kind of thing
To keep tiny hands from grabbing so much
wadded up paper for one little butt.
Packages upon packages bought every week
I should grow my own forest to wipe all this cheek.

Please Don't Leave Me!

One thing I am having trouble balancing is working towards the adoption and maintaining my normal life. I have to remind myself to focus on what's going on now, not what I am going to need to do in 4 months and what might be happening in a year. The girls are starting to "rebel" at my mind being so obviously absent, and are exhibiting really frustrating behaviors. Maddie especially.
One thing I know is that I can't keep up this blog and the adoption blog at the same time, so for now I am going to be posting over there only. Everyday life mixed in with adoption stuff. I have more followers over there anyway, and it has only been live for 2 weeks! I don't want to lose the readers I have over here.

www.moveanymountian.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday Cameron!

Yesterday and today we are celebrating my only son's 10th birthday. Love and laughter abounds. Cameron started off his birthday by waking up at 4am this morning to have some "man time" with Corey. They set off fishing while the rest of us slept until 7. After blueberry pancakes and sausage, he spent the rest of the morning shooting Nerf darts at his sisters. This afternoon we will grill some ribs. This is the gaggle of giggling children last night, eating ice cream cones.

We love us some ice cream around here. We should buy stock in Dryers. Or Bryers. Or whatever is on sale each week.

And no, I don't feel bad about that. There is some redeeming nutritional value in ice cream. Besides, as I sit here at the kitchen table typing this, Maddie sits next to me eating a fresh raw tomato like an apple.

I pulled another tooth last night, this time one of Brittany's molars. I really think I have earned my dental degree by now. And, the tooth fairy needs to get a second job if this keeps up!

Happy Birthday my sweet son. You hold a special place in my heart as my only son, I hope you know that. No matter what the future may hold, our love for you can only grow. As a matter of fact, that may not even be possible. That's how much we love you!

Do You Hear That?

Do you hear that sound? It's the winds of change. I'll be cheesy now and borrow the lyrics from an absolute favorite song of mine sung by Scorpion many years ago.

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In a wind of change

There is change coming in our lives.
And we couldn't be happier.
I pray that the people in our lives realize that this change, while colossal, is but a blessing. I pray that God softens your hearts, like he has mine, so that you can know we are doing this out of love, and you will realize too that we are taking these steps not to take something away from our children, but rather to give something back. To spread love beyond the 4 walls of our house.
With our eyes wide open.

Please join in us watching Dateline on Sunday night 7pm/6 central, "Who is the boy from baby house 10?". This episode shows the horrors that children in Russia who have been abandoned by their parents into orphanages, called baby houses, endure until they are adopted. If they are not adopted by age 4, they are transferred into adult mental institutions, to live out their lives in misery. Neglected, unloved, and even tied to cribs and beds. This is actually the second time NBC has shown this type of story, the first time was about mental institutions in Serbia(conditions are the same throughout Eastern Europe). It was very disturbing. I imagine this episode will be too.


And that brings to mind another song "Cause I gotta have faith faith faith"! (a little George Michael, anyone?)

Silliness and Other Stuff

First, the silliness. Boxes. My girls sure love boxes. They are more fun than any toy in any Target in the country.

This morning, I am feeling peaceful for the first time in weeks. Actually, it started last night. This strange peace just washed over me, and for once I was able to sleep fall asleep quickly and rest well. My brain had actully been hurting from all of the thinking and planning and questioning and doubting, so sleep has eluded me every night as my thoughts swirled relentlessly around in my head. But last night? Peace. And joy. And hope. Sometimes you have to just step out in faith, and trust that if God is calling you to do something, He will provide the means. He will make it happen. Because when it's all said and done, if He wants me to do something, then it is His responsibility to overcome all the obstacles. I'll admit, when I've been told in the past that God will provide, he will make everything work out, I have scoffed. Ha! I said. What is he going to do? Put cash in my mailbox? Remove doubtful people from my path? Well, according to the online support group I have joined, that's pretty much what he does! (If, If, If what you are doing is really his will for your life.) I can only say He has been working on me in the last 3 months. Softening, molding, changing my heart. We are very blessed. And now it's time to give those blessings back. Share them. And step out in faith. For those of you whom I know in real life, you may not agree, you may think we are out of our minds, but all we need from you is this. "We love you, we support you, and we believe in you, trust that you will do what you feel is right. We are here for you."

Who is that tapping me on the shoulder?

Many times in my life I have felt like I should be doing more with my life. But, and this is a big "but", the more has always been for myself. Meaning I should be working harder, at a better job, or go back to school and finish my degree, or cleaning my house more or socializing more or going to churh more often. So the feeling that I should be doing more is not foreign to me. However, lately I have been feeling a little lost, a little pointless. What is the purpose of my life? What is God's purpose for my life? I feel like there is something I should be doing. Something to serve Him and glorify Him. And I don't know what it is, so for the first time in my life I have been praying for God to show me, to tell me, what He wants me to be doing with my life. I have been prayerfully asking Him to please show me what my purpose for Him is, not for myself or my family. I don't really know how to explain it. If you go and visit Patrice, she says what I am feeling in a much clearer and more eloquent way. I feel a stirring in my heart, which may or may not be God starting to tell me something I can do to serve Him. It's not something I am really ready to acknowledge out loud. I fell upon this one blog, and have been reading it faithfully, and searching out other blogs with similar stories and following these women's journeys. I'm feeling pulled in this direction, but it is scary. I'm not even sure that this is God tapping me on the shoulder or what, since if I'm being honest I have never really felt "called" to do something for God or even felt like I should be serving God in a bigger way. I apologize for all this rambling this early Saturday morning, but these past few weeks of Corey working practically nonstop (for which I am thankful, not complaining) has brought me a lot of time with my own thoughts. Those of you with true experience being called by God to do something, how do you know it is Him tapping you on the shoulder and not just your own mind wanting something that another person has?

The scene: Taylor and Maddie are at the table, snacking on some chips (yes, I let them snack on junk food but only after they have had fruit. I whole-heartedly believe that bribery has it's place in the job of parenting). Overheard: "Mommy is my best friend." (Taylor speaking to Maddie) Beautiful to hear, but finite I know. My 12 year old doesn't hate me yet, so parents of teenagers out there tell me at what age can I expect it to start?

I have removed the huge picture at the top of the page in the hopes that my grandparents can once again access the blog. A picture that big takes too long to load, and some computers/internet connections can't handle it at all. I realize that the blog looks rather plain now, but this is too important to worry about such trivialities.

Grandma...please let me know if you can see the posts now.

Sometimes I Wonder...

~If I am always going to have to choose between financial survival and being basically a single mom or having my husband home with us in the evenings and on weekends and not being able to pay our bills.

~If prayer really makes a difference. I mean, if everthing is preordained and God already knows everything that is going to happen, what is the point of praying for someone to not have cancer? Or for that person with cancer to be healed? Or really for anything not to happen in general?

~If other stay at home moms who spend much of their time alone (husband at work) struggle during the dinner-to-bath-to-bedtime routine like I do? I'm fine all day and then bam! When the time of day comes that he usually comes home and he doesn't, I fall apart.

~If other mothers despise Playdoh as much as I do. My kids love it, but jeez cleaning it up sucks. Especially if you have all the little tools and stuff that turns the big balls of Playdoh into tiny little pieces, spread from here to kingdom come.

~What I am going to do with myself when my kids are grown. Oh wait...I don't wonder about that at all. I know. I am going to have a life!

The time has come to say goodbye to the crib. It is not one that converts to a toddler bed, like we had thought (we bought it brand new, why did we think this when it wasn't stated on the box?). Since Maddie climbs out, we leave the rail down so she has less distance to fall and place 4 bed pillows stacked in twos right on the floor. Aren't I a great mom? So safe, so conscientious. There should be awards for mothers like me. Soooooo, we will find her a new bed. With Taylor we went straight from the crib to a twin. I'm not big on the toddler bed, seems silly to buy a bed only to have to buy another one in a year.
Also, does anyone know (you--I'm talking to you, my four readers out there) if there is a childproof cover for light switches? Maddie will not stop climbing out of bed and turning the light on at bedtime, so we have had to use black electrical tape and tape the switch down. We pray, we read, then she gets a few minutes of lights-on time to read on her own, then we have last potty, then the lights go off while I sing her like 10 songs. But, she keeps getting up after lights out and turning them back on. The electrical tape works, but I have to use a lot to keep her from being able to just pull it off, and we can't go on like this using 1/4 roll of tape every night. Hints?

The worst part of checking your credit report? You find old medical accounts that you didn't know were on there and then pay them.

The best part of checking your credit report? You find old medical accounts that you didn't know were on there and then pay them.

The Biggest Gap Ever

Taylor lost her first tooth today. It was barely wiggleable (wiggable? wiggly?) for months, and then suddenly yesterday it was extremely loose. This afternoon she was complaining that it was hurting, so I told her I needed to pull it. Needless to say, she was not quick to jump on that bandwagon. After explaining to her that if she wouldn't let me pull it, then she couldn't complain to me that it hurt, she gave me the go ahead. You should have seen her face! Although who was more nervous, her or I, is anybody's guess. (I didn't show it, though, I had to act sure and confident and tell her that it is completely normal for her mother to grab ahold of her tooth with a piece of toilet paper and rip it from her mouth.) After slipping off the tooth twice, I managed to yank that puppy with no tears from either of us! And here she is....

It must be the biggest gap ever from just one missing tooth.

I told her she looks like a pirate. Captain Taylor Sparrow.

The Tooth Sisters

Spring Break then....



Spring Break now...

Leave it to Taylor to dip grilled scallops in ranch dressing.

Old

I'm wearing one of my few pairs of designer jeans. They are some skinny slouchy "Lucky's" that my husband bought me a couple of years ago. They are lightly distressed, a few strategically placed worn out spots.

Taylor says to me: "Why you got holes?" (ok, we need to work on grammer)
I say to her: "Because it's cool."
She responds: "But it's not cool. How do you think it's cool?"

Huh. Aren't they supposed to be teenagers before they start to question your definition of "cool"?

Taylor, yesterday morning at about 8 am, from the bathroom:

"Mommy, it is so great to be alive!"



Taylor is one super balloon-blower-upper.

I warned her that it was going to pop. What is that look on her face...is that disbelief? No way...

It popped, of course. Cue much broken-hearted crying. Sigh. I hate knowing everything.

Random Ramblings

* Fear. It's alive and well. Actually, not quite fear yet. Anxiety. Nervousness. See, they have been cutting hours for technicians at Corey's company. There's just not enough work right now. Until today, he has escaped unscathed. He's actually had quite a bit of overtime the past few weeks. This morning, they told him to come in an hour late. This afternoon, they told him he has tomorrow "off". This could pass, or this could be only the beginning of a disasterous decline. It's scary, though. The worst part of being a SAHM? The helplessness. The dependency. The inability to bring in some money to help alleviate some of the stress on your husband. (BTW, I am very open to keeping a working mother's child for extra income, I just have to find the child!)

* Maddie was on the toilet and asked me why I have lines on my knees. I told her they were wrinkles and I have them because I am old. She reached for my knees from her sitting position on the toilet and said "I will rub them out."

* Maddie said at dinner "thank you for this meal" again, only this time I admit I only served hot dogs. Hmm. I cook that bad?

* I admit that I am only watching American Idol this season so I can see Steven Tyler.

* I love 5. Taylor is 90% wanting to please me and make me happy, and only 10% naughty. You can't ask for more than that.

* My husband rocks. Seriously.

* The songs I have to sing to Maddie before she will go to sleep at night are Jingle Bells, Silent Night, a long-added-on-to-version of The Barney Song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

* Every night after I finish singing and leave the room, Maddie starts forcing out coughs and calling "Mommy I'm siiiiiicccckkk." "No, you are not." Cue more forced coughing, and around and around we go.

* I'm well aware that this new blog design is ugly. The previous one stopped loading, so I had to set up a new one, and I can't get it right. I finally got so frustrated that I just threw this up (literally. ha.) and will fix it when I feel like trying again.

Last night right after we sat down for dinner and prayed, and I filled Maddie's tray with another home cooked meal, she said this:

"Thank you for making this dinner Mama."

Awww, it was so sweet in her little voice 2 year old voice. Sometimes, a little appreciation goes a long way towards reminding you why you work so hard as a mom. Brittany and Cameron are do such a good job of this, expressing their appreciation and telling me thank you. This is the first time Maddie has said anything like this, and unprompted at that.

(brag alert: no, I did not translate that. She said it exactly like that, in a complete and clear sentence.)

Check and Check

I checked two things off of my to-do list, and I feel relieved. I have said before that we don't live in the best neighborhood right now, so naturally I have been concerned about the quality of the elementary school that Taylor would be attending this August. I am ecstatic to report that we will not have to move!
(Actually, I want to move. To a better place. But it is not in our immediate financial future to afford a better place, though I was fully planning to make it work somehow if the school sucked.)
Actually what I am happy to report is that the school is awesome! It is new and also was named an "Exemplary" School for 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. She and I have been talking about Kindergarten a lot lately, and we are both excited.
Also, I found out that Taylor can receive some help with her speech issues through the school district starting at age 3 (thanks, Mom!). She does not have to wait until she starts kindergarten. I have an appointment in April (good thing I called now, because that's how far off the first available date was) to have her tested by the special ed department, and they will determine what kind of help she needs and how to help her. I am happy to finally be making progress on getting Taylor what she needs.

Aaarrrggghhh!

No, I'm not a pirate. I just realized I sounded like one when I said that out loud.

I have to say, this Maddie-being-able-to-get-out-of-her-bed thing is really, incredibly frustrating. Turns out the crib does not convert to a toddler bed (huh..I thought they all did, except for the cheap ones and this one wasn't). Of course we didn't learn this until Corey had removed the side and searched the garage for the little rail. So, the rail went back on, and now I just have it in the lowered position. She sleeps like a monkey every which direction, so we can't just leave the rail off. I'm sure she would fall out (Corey says it's not that far, she won't be hurt. I say of course she won't but she will wake up and then wake me up) without anything there. Since I know she is going to scale the side it is better if she has a shorter height to climb and a shorter distance to fall, I decided to just leave the rail down for now, until we can get her a bed. It's kind of funny, actually, because she doesn't even try to hide the fact that she got out of her bed. She immediately turns the light on and by the time I get in there she is on the floor looking at a book or a puzzle. At least she knows not to pick a noisy toy! All kidding aside, bedtime (and naptime, too, though she doesn't get up as many times) is just not like it used to be in the good ol' days, when she was trapped in baby jail.

Maddieisms

"You are 'nnoying me." (annoying)

"That rirritating." (irritating)

"I cover your mouth so you stop talking."

I Had to Run the A/C Yesterday

It's February.



'Nuff said.

We Had A Good Run

The time I have been dreading has come. Maddie has started climbing over the crib rail and cracking her door open, looking for escape. Today when Corey gets home from work he will turn the crib into a toddler bed. I worried all night that she would break her arm when she hit the floor after launching herself over the rail. I have said many times that I will not let my child cry it out, no matter the age. So, for awhile there we were going back into Maddie's room every 10 minutes to sing another song, give another kiss, etc, for an hour until she finally went to sleep. I was tired of that, so a little over a month ago I put my foot down and brought that habit to an abrupt stop (without letting her cry herself into an exhausted slumber...yes, it's possible). We have had a good run with easy bedtime. After reading some books and singing some songs, I only had to go back into her room one time each night, and that was to get her up for her last potty (she goes before she gets into bed, but she always needs to go one more time). That's it. It still would take her awhile to fall asleep, but she never called us back in there after her "last potty". Bedtime was so easy. I watch "Supernanny", and I am shocked by the bedtime scenes, with the kids screaming and getting out of bed hundreds of times, the mothers sometimes having to sit on the floor in their room near the door, to keep them from screaming. And I thought, thank heavens I don't have to go through that. We have it easy. Well, toddler bed and Maddie running amok at bedtime, here we come.

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Happy 5th birthday to my sweet Taylor! You are caring, affectionate, creative, imaginative, smart, happy, loving, helpful and completely wonderful! I couldn't love you more if my life depended on it!

***please forgive the old picture, but this old computer still will not let me access My Computer to upload pictures from the memory card.

Speech Delay is Contagious

Taylor has possibly the cutest child-saying ever. EVER. Her Taylorism is "I can hear my heart beeping." She says beeping instead of beating. She says this often, and despite the fact that I tell her the correct way to say it every time, she continues saying it her way. Which is seriously adorble, so I don't mind. What I do mind however is that Maddie is starting to copy the way Taylor says things (duh, since they are together all day long). The problem is that Taylor has some speech problems, and though Maddie does not (I have gotten her to say things correctly when prodded), she imitates what she hears. For example, Taylor can't make the "T" sound, it comes out as a hard "C". Toilet is Coilet, toy is coy, and so on. She also makes the "D" sound as a hard "G". Unfortunately we can't do anything about the her need for speech therapy right now because the girls are now uninsured, and Corey makes too much money to qualify for help from the state. I really hate the fact that we have to wait to get her help until she starts school and can get speech therapy through the school district. I am working with Taylor as much as I can, I correct her every time she makes a sound incorrectly, but she just can't get her tongue to do what it is supposed to. I even went to a mommy speech therapy blog and tried to have Taylor do the exercises, but I'm not trained so she still struggles. I did read on this site that she is making the typical substitutions that other kids with a speech delay make. I feel like an awful mother making her start school already needing extra help. I fear that the teachers and other students will have trouble understanding her, and that will lead to frustration on all sides. We can understand pretty much every thing she says, but that's because we are with her all the time of course! It is becoming a bigger problem now that Maddie is making the same substitutions as Taylor despite the fact that she can make the correct sounds.

This is funny, though. Taylor says "gotfor" instead of "forgot". Maddie does the same, only because she hears her big sister. I constantly tell them the correct way to say it, but they persist with "gotfor".

A Whole Lot of Nothing

We are still here. I haven't posted in awhile because there is something wrong with this computer and I can't post any pictures. (For any of you computer whiz people out there, when I try to pull up "My Computer" a flashlight appears, moving back and forth, and then disappears with an error box popping up.) Without pictures, I have not much to say. Taylor turns 5 in a few days, and we are doing lots of talking about kindergarten coming up. She is super excited, as am I! Because of this health insurance deal, we have been talking about my going back to work when Taylor starts school so that we can afford insurance. What stinks about this country is that if my husband sat on his a** at home, we would qualify for government aid and insurance. But because he works hard, we can't have insurance. Really makes sense.
Anyway, we are all feeling better finally and are looking forward to a playdate both tomorrow and on Thursday.

Wish List Wednesday

For lack of anything more interesting to post, I am going to play along with Jennifer in her special Valentine's version of Wish List Wednesday. Go check her out!

~I am still using Corey's old work laptop, and it is slow, heavy, and I can't scroll using the touch pad (which is a bigger deal than you would think). Plus, it's not mine and I really shouldn't still have it.

~I would truly love to replace the 25 year old dresser we are using as a television stand in the living room with one of these!

~ My vacuum cleaner is way past it's prime, and I'm thinking that when I vacuum, it only picks up the dust and blows it out the other side. Since this is a "wish" list, I really want the Dyson Ball All Floors Upright. Ahh, what a dreamy vacuum cleaner. Ha!

It's Cold!

There is nothing much happening around here. We are cold, like the rest of the nation. There is such a strain on the power companies that they are rotating 30 minute outages throughout the city. It was great fun to lose electricity this morning at 7:30! Luckily, I had already brewed my coffee or there would have been a crisis. Here in Texas we are certainly not used to weather in the 'teens. However, I feel very lucky to be able to stay home where it's warm and not have to take the girls out in this. I'm feeling for all you working mothers out there! There are a few upsides to being a stay-at-home mom. Just kidding, being home with them is great. Most of the time. Ahem.

Nothing special going on with these pics, just wanted to liven up this boring post. Maddie demanded that I take a picture of her with her cat in her shirt yet again. Don't look too close at that second picture, because then you will see the greasy fried potatoes in the corner. Just look at the veggies. Thanks.

Sunday Senses

Sight: Sunshine for the first time in days, no children in sight.
Hear: Silence. No kidding, complete silence. Never happens around here. (Husband took all children to the park. Need I say more? He is awesome..I love him.)
Feel: Stress, tension. Today is the final day we have to make a decision on the insurance thing as tomorrow the papers are due back. I thank those of you (all two of you!) who gave me some input, I only wish private insurance were an option but I am "uninsurable". Yeah, I'm a hot mess I guess.
Smell: Nothing, really. I do need to clean the litter box though. Gross.
Taste: The wonderful box of chocolates that my mother-in-law sent me for my birthday tomorrow.

Go see Rebecca and she'll tell you what she's experiencing today.

Say What?

It has been a pretty hard week around here. Maddie and I are sick, and Taylor seems to have woken up this morning coughing now too. Since we are sick, we have stayed home all week and passed on several playdates that we normally would have used to get out of the house and have some fun. Needless to say, we are feeling stir-crazy.

And then, on Wednesday, we get the news.

Effective February 1st, our medical insurance will increase by 75%. From $134 per week for crappy coverage, to $236 per week for the same crappy coverage. If we want to go up to the better plan that utilizes a copay rather than an embedded deductible (which we were planning to do), we will have to pay $264 per week. Without giving you specifics on finances, I can tell you that that is not a drop in the bucket. It would really, really hurt.

We are in an uproar. Should I go back to work just to pay for daycare and insurance? Should we risk being uninsured? Can someone who has had to make this decision before give me some advice?

This is the sick house, signing off.

I know that I like to brag about how I feed my children. Even raw tomato and green pepper strips disappear at an alarming rate into Maddie's mouth. I never show you the other side, though. While we do eat tons of fresh fruit and vegetables, we also eat lots of junk like ice cream, cookies and chips. Here is proof that my kids don't always eat healthy.

That is powdered sugar on their faces, from those bags of highly-processed, white-flour-and-lard-filled donuts.

Proof Positive

I mentioned in an earlier post that Taylor has, for the most part, stopped the set of behaviors that put the "terrible" in the two's and the "terrifying" in the three's. The preschooler generally wants to please his/her parent, and is much more aware of others and their feelings. (I learned this in a child development class in college, so I didn't make it up but I can't tell you exactly where it comes from either. I have found it to be true, however, having a third child passing through that age group. )
Last night Taylor offered more proof. All six of us had just sat down at the dinner table, hands folded, just about to start the prayer. Taylor says, "Wait a minute everybody, I have something to say. I love you all."

There's something to make you smile on this Monday morning.

Children of the Millenium

Like it or lump it, we live in an age of technology.

Easily accessible and relatively cheap, it has taken the place of things like jacks and hopscotch in our childrens' lives.

When not at gymnastics or soccer, Brittany and Cameron can be found on their computers, Nintendos and iPhones (Brittany received an iPhone 4 for her birthday from her father and Cameron is using my older model that I gave to him when I switched back to my preferred Blackberry). They both work hard, at school and their respective sports, so I figure it's ok.

Taylor and Maddie have inherited their love of technology. That's just great, 'cause I can promise they will not each have their own iPhone and laptop like my older two!

You know you have been watching too much "16 and Pregnant" when your two year old and four year old daughters come to you with cats stuffed into their shirts shouting "I have a baby in my tummy!".

(disclaimer: I watch this show on my computer while I'm cooking dinner. Because that's much less damning than watching it on the big television in the living room, right?)

January Equals

January= My birthday (yay)

January= Post-Christmas slump (boo)

January= Waiting for info to start taxes (yay)

January= Return of the insurance deductible (@#&%^@)

January= Oh wait, did I say yay for birthday? I'm another year older (boo)

January= Adorable girls in warm fuzzy jammies (yay)

Maddieism of the Day

"No hose way!"

translation: No way jose.
Yes, I'm ashamed to admit that I've said this to my children. I'm a paragon of proper grammer and class.

And the Lightbulb Goes On

I have figured out why the experts say that the optimim time interval between children is (at least) two years. With an age gap of 2-3 years, one child will be out of the terrible two's and the terrifying three's before the next one enters the phase. Taylor was an extremely trying three year old. Madison has suddenly, within the past two weeks, turned into a holy terror. My sweet, calm, compliant, laid back, momma-lovin' baby has turned into little red haired hooligan from "Problem Child". Remember that movie? John Ritter was the father and the child was pure evil. That may be a slight exaggeration, she's not quite evil yet, but she has changed. Everything she does is completely normal for a two year old, but I'm surprised I have any hair left after this week.
A few examples of her OMG-how-am-I-gonna-get-through-this-day-without-losing-my-mind behavior:
-Throwing food. And cups. And plates. And bowls. Every bit of food I give her.
-Turning the light off in the bathroom every time I take a shower. I have to scream for Taylor to come in and turn it back on.
-Dumping the remaining water in her cup on my kitchen rugs after she has a drink.
-Chewing up food and spitting it out. On the floor.

I know that every other mother reading this is saying so what? My kid does that all the time. I realize she is not unique in her two-ness (not a word, I know). It is really just the pure defiance that rankles me. And the showering in the dark part. I have always coddled her, and let her pretty much get away with anything and everything. Now I am reaping the results of that. I did the Super Nanny thing on Thursday night, where I kept returning her to the time out chair every time she got up and starting the clock over, and I think a 2 minute time-out took 30 minutes to accomplish. (She also kept standing up and turning the a/c or heater on. I guess I should move the time-out chair to a spot not directly under the thermostat.)

Taylor, thank-you-Jesus, has come out of this type of behavior. She is mostly sweet and wanting to please me. Occasional tantrums, occasional loss of hearing (meaning she just ignores me when I tell her to do or not to do something), but not destructive and pushing her boundaries like Maddie. I am so glad that I don't have a two year old and a three year old.

Good thing she's cute. Seriously cute.

A Story

This is the "tree" that Taylor and Maddie planted this afternoon.

And this is Taylor and Maddie "watching the tree grow", which Taylor says she is going to do "all night long".

I can't seem to convince her that her tree made of sticks and dead branches will not grow.


Please excuse the appearance of the back yard. That big dirt spot is where Dezi dug up the grass last summer, trying to get to the cool soil underneath during 100+ degree weather. The white stuff to the right of the porch is the filling Finn pulled out of the old comforter that was in his dog house. The paint has also been chewed off of the house in several spots, especially near the bottom of the post. Why in the world does anybody have dogs??

The New Year

The year 2010 was pretty good, I have decided after long and earnest introspection. Ha. To be truthful, I have only briefly thought of last year, and only after seeing other bloggers write out reviews and recaps of 2010. All in all, it was a good year. We have made progress in several areas of our life, making headway in reducing the drama, being better parents and increasing our financial stability. Baby steps in all areas, but strides forward none the less. We ended the year in a better place than we started it, and you can't ask for more than that.

What's in store for us in the year 2011:

~Brittany will get braces, with the spacers going in today. Yay! So much for that financial stability I was just talking about.

~Taylor starts kindergarten.

~Possibly we will move to a bit nicer neighborhood. I have great hopes.

~We are planning a visit to the great-grandparents on both sides in MO, but I am hoping to squeeze in our first short "adult only" trip somewhere. Anywhere. wink wink.

Happy New Year!!